It's all the things, half the time, rather than half the things all the time

Soup & Iced Tea

I was giving my boss a ride today, (his car was being worked on) and we stopped so I could grab a bit to eat at one of the independent bakery/sandwich spots in town. I usually am pretty careful with how much I spend eating out, and avoid some places just because I know they’re kind of pricey. But I figured, I’ll have something small, and it’ll be fine.
I ordered a bowl of soup, which came with a slice of bread, and we each had an iced tea. The total came to $10.25. Now I’m one to admit that it cost money to run a business, and that you need to pay for the service, convenience, etc. to be able to eat out. But a reasonably sized bowl of soup and 2 drinks. Obviously this wasn’t the daily special, and I must say, it was pretty good soup, but it was, still soup. No sandwich, no table service, bus your own dishes, pour your own tea cafeteria style.

I know, I’m getting old. This rant stinks of “crusty old man” but I don’t know how people can afford having a full meal at that price. I’ve always been kind of a tightwad when it comes to going out to lunch. I look for the $4.99 special, and have eaten more subway $5 foot-longs than I care to admit.

Even my boss, who tends, as bosses are wont to do, to ignore the pricing at lunch, and order meals that run $10 or $15 without a thought, cringed at the $10.25 that came up on the register for soup and tea.